Back catalogue: All genres

Review: After reuniting the Cosmic Renaissance project, and following up the release of the album Universal Language in 2022, Gianluca Petrella returns with a new five-track EP, 'Universal Message', again on Schema. Recontextualizing the vision of the album, this follow-up extends its impressive jazzdance and hip-house vision, with Petrella ever-revolving his style towards new Afro-jazz-futurist vortices, abandoning the band concept towards an electronic aesthetic with a profound spiritual concept to boot.

Review: Courtesy's second studio album is another no-holds-barred deep dive into the heart of a minimal and tech house dance floor. Eschewing the usual ambient intro in favour of getting right down to business, things kick off with the surging comic-tech of 'I'm Happy I Am Not Susan Sontag', then the slamming drums of 'My Dazed Friend (feat Klo)' come with zoned out and alluring vocal musings. 'Let There Be LOVE! (feat Lyanne)' is another fast but smooth tech cruise with emotive vocal textures and 'Does Every Track Have To Be A Journey?' is a punchy tool which suggests not.

Review: In the words of Hamlin Garland....I remember a hundred lovely lakes, and recall the fragrant breath of pine and fir and cedar and poplar trees. The trail has strung upon it, as upon a thread of silk, opalescent dawns and saffron sunsets. It has given me blessed release from care and worry and the troubled thinking of our modern day. It has been a return to the primitive and the peaceful. Whenever the pressure of our complex city life thins my blood and benumbs my brain, I seek relief in the trail; and when I hear the Coyote wailing to the yellow dawn, my cares fall from me - I am happy. Coyote wail away all your troubles. Their dub sensibilities to the fore and supported by ambient textures and chunky bounding percussive rhythms.Another unique listening experience from the IIB overlords

Review: Crazy P's latest album offers a clean, classic experience, while still showcasing the band's skill in merging retro influences with fresh, modern energy. Tracks like 'Portals' and 'Not Too Late' highlight the depth of their sound, and the late Danielle Moore's signature vocals provide an emotional anchor throughout. The pressing is high quality, ensuring every intricate detail shines through. This edition is perfect for both audiophiles and fans, offering an immersive listening experience that pays tribute to Moore's legacy within the band.

Review: Crazy P's latest release sees the band effortlessly blending their love of classic disco, house and funk with a modern sensibility, exploring both the joyous and reflective sides of the human experience. The album opens with the summery, hypnotic 'Human After All', its groovy bassline and warm synths creating an instantly inviting atmosphere. As the record unfolds, the songs take on a more introspective tone, like the emotive 'The Revolution Will Not Be Anything', which pulses with infectious rhythm and nuanced melodies. There's a deep sophistication in how the group fuses elements of nostalgia with forward-thinking production, creating an album that's as much about feeling as it is about moving.

Review: It could be said that the work of Aussie label Anjunadeep doesn't really get the spotlight it deserves. It's been serving up some fine deep and progressive house sounds for many years now, serving as a launch pad for artists like Dusky amongst others. This new album from former pizza delivery driver CRI is a follow-up and spiritual successor to his debut album Juvenile which was also released on this label. It was written while traveling across the world and features the return of collaborators Jesse Mac Cormack and Sophia Bel, a spot from London hip-hop duo Everyone You Know, and the soulful tones Klo Pelgag as well as indie-folk trio Half Moon Run.

Review: Danish ambient electronica mastermind Croatian Amor returns to the fore with a fresh album, A Part Of You In Everything, not long at all after his most recent, angelic-themed full-length Remember Rainbow Bridge. The Posh Isolation crew, of course, have always traded in heartbreak: the album is a tribute to the artist and label owner's late brother, who died at birth, also making up a companion piece to the previous album. In a whirl of steady, gut-punching feels-oozes, Amor is backed by his label coevals Perko, Vanessa Amara, NikkiH2OP, Alto Aria and Jeuru, all of whom help him lay down an incredible sense of pacing, space and depth.

Review: The recent, untimely death of David Lynch from emphysema possibly inspired this new Cherry Red compilation, mapping the career of the equally late musician Julee Cruise, who died in 2022. This new 2xCD set compiles the first phase of the unique and enigmatic chanteuse's recording career, which really begun not long after the infamous Twin Peaks songster penned the theme tune 'Falling', which finally put dream pop on the map after many years of general incubation. Of course, said Angelo Badalamenti benchmark production features centrally, but many more rapid-eyed reveries - such as 'This Is Our Night', 'Floating', 'Into The Night' and 'Summer Kisses, Winter Tears' - also document the washout pop passions of Cruise outside of the Lynchian paradigm, with Wim Wenders soundtrack cuts to original lounge-classical dirges all following in tow. Stylishly presented, and complete with an insightful sleevenote essay, 'Fall_Float_Love' demands a long overdue rediscovery

Review: Made up predominantly of live drums and backing sequences, Cruisic affirm a sturdy sonic "yes" in the vein of nu-funk and jazz-funk on their new record, Euphoria. Riffing on the successes accrued since at least 2019, first in the form of an 'Inspector Norse' rendition, then a couple more covers - 808 State's 'Pacific 707', Azymuth's 'Jazz Carnival' - Euphoria is a contrastingly unique selling point, homing in on the duo's own talents and masteries. Cruisic express the essence of house, MPB, acid jazz and groove, hardly ever overextending the tempo and keeping things at a steady 115-ish, all while remaining firmly in the wild camps of smooth and mellow.

Review: Reissued after its 1997 debut, Crustation's Bloom emerges from the shadows of trip-hop giants like Portishead and Massive Attack as a legendary gem of the genre. Comprised of Ian Dark, Stig Manley, and Mark Tayler, the Bristol-based band crafted a fantastic sonic universe with their singular LP, featuring the enchanting vocals of Bronagh Slevin, ethereal atmospheres, and hypnotic beats. The album, adorned with artwork co-designed by Stanley Donwood of Radiohead fame, immerses listeners in a dreamy landscape from the opening instrumental 'Hey' to the sublime 'Purple.' Slevin's velvety voice guides us through a nocturnal journey, evoking a sense of safety in darkness. Tracks like 'Close My Eyes' and 'Face The Waves' transport listeners to ethereal realms, while 'Reverie' shows the beauty of orchestral strings intertwined with melancholic lyrics. Yet, it's 'Flame' that stands as the album's pinnacle, a transcendent hymn to beauty and serenity. Beginning with ambient dreaminess, Slevin's whispering vocals crescendo into a breathtaking refrain, accompanied by strings that evoke a phantasmagorical atmosphere. Overall, Bloom remains a hidden masterpiece of trip hop, its nocturnal, spacey, and velvet textures embodying the genre's essence.

Review: CS + Kreem have a hard job on their hands to follow up the magnificent Snoopy but they do it admirably with Orange. This is another intriguing album on The Trilogy Tapes that pairs suspenseful emptiness with fresh instrumental interjections, creepy spoken words with atmospheric found sounds to make for an album that is part sound collage, part experimental rhythms and part ambient storytelling. Acoustic guitars, nervy cellos, tentative xylophones, woozy flutes and lazy drum sounds all colour the airwaves in this most deep, compelling and pensive of records.

Review: Following 2022's Orange, Naarm (Melbourne) based pair CS + Kreme return with a brand new third album The Butterfly Drinks The Tears Of The Tortoise. This time out, the pair decide to head into a world of more dramatic sounds and global soundscapes that fuse organic elements like medieval arrangements, seafaring guitar strums and Sundanese tarawangsa strings with their own signature rhythms and industrial-edged drums. The standout track 'Uki' exemplifies this contrast as it evolves from abstract vocal loops and whispers into an avant-garde acid techno workout with claps and sharp melodies. The album therefore ably showcases the CS + Kreme's ability to merge delicate harmonies with unpredictable sonic structures.

Review: Legendary DJ Guy Cuevas has his own music compiled here by Libreville Records. It's a magnificent showcase of his sounds which range from disco to jazz to afro. The French-Cuban writer, musician, and DJ has one been a mainstay on the Paris scene as resident at the mythical nightclub Le Palace. His ability to take crowds to euphoria knew no bounds and in the 80s he managed to turn out plenty of tracks that also help get you there. His most famous tune 'Obsessions' gets a new remix here amongst loads of other gems.

Review: As a paid-up member of Seth Troxler's extended Visionquest family, it's perhaps no surprise that Detroit new-schooler Lee Curtiss's contribution to the Watergate club's mix series is brimming with warm, touchy-feely tech-house. From start to finish, Watergate 08 sounds like an audio advert for the Visionquest sound; that pleasingly melodic fusion of heavy low-end, off-kilter synth pop posturing and tactile, MDMA-friendly electronic grooves. It's the sort of effortlessly delicious sound that lends itself well to a mix album, and as a result Watergate 08 is a lovely listen. With superb contributions from Footprintz, Maceo Plex, No Regular Play, Kim-Ann Foxman and Curtiss himself, there's plenty to get excited about.

Review: &Chakib is the debut album from Swiss Producer, DJ, and live-act Dominik Traub, also known as Dandara. Infusing influences from Africa, Asia, and Latin America with European techno and house, Dominik's signature sound shines through. The album's inception came after a fateful encounter with Algerian vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Chakib Bouzidi at a festival in Basel. Despite Chakib's untimely passing, Dominik continued the project, honouring his memory by completing the work. Infused with Chakib's voice notes and collaborative recordings, the album serves as a heartfelt tribute and through resilient collaboration and creative influence it emerges as a fine collection of globally influenced dance music.

Review: The glorious Dobro label gets to double figures in fine style here with a new album that finds Iner both going solo and collaborating with Oiuna on four new cuts which then get remixed. The originals are summery, airy, organic worlds of gentle deep house rhythms, feathery synth melodies and gentle hooks that have a subtle future feel. The remixes rework the tunes for more direct vibes in the club with Frank Music label head Johannes Albert going first and then Crowd Control also stepping up. Great artwork, too.

Review: There is a wealth of talent on show on the third EP from the Fusion Sequence label which has put together this six-track deep house sizzler. The Variable Club' 'Biorhythms' is perfectly warm and dynamic for cosy backroom moments and Alpine DJ then brings an old school piano feel to 'Pepe Nony' before A Vision Of Panorama zones you out on lush chords and reverential keys on 'Kissing The Sun.' The flipside offers the more dark and heads-down 'Many Stories' while the blissed-out and feel-good grooves return with Common Mode's 'Bassface.' Body Corp shuts down with the slower, seductive sounds of 'Take It Or Leave It' which rounds out a top-class EP.

Review: Under the open skies of Southern California, with the San Bernardino Mountains in sight, Sam Wilkes, Craig Weinrib, and Dylan Day came together to craft this album in one seamless evening session. Wilkes' bass, Weinrib's drums, and Day's electric guitar unite to form an organic and unhurried collaboration. The trio's sound feels effortless yet focused, driven by the natural chemistry between them rather than stylistic constraints. Each note speaks to a deep mutual understanding, allowing the music to evolve naturally, guided by the landscape and the moment.